It all started Monday, one day after the Lions beat the Browns 38-37 at Ford Field, with Mangini suggesting the Lions faked injuries during the game to slow Cleveland's no-huddle offense.

Mangini also said the officials erred in throwing flags on Browns cornerback Hank Poteat, who committed a pass interference penalty with no time remaining. That infraction set up the untimed final play of the game in which the Lions scored the game-winning touchdown.

About the possibility of the Lions faking injuries, Mangini said, "They all came back. I have no idea.''

When asked again if Mangini was accusing the Lions of faking injuries, he said, "I'm just saying there were a lot of them. It's um ... there's no penalty and, um, maybe all of those guys were legitimately injured. I haven't talked to him about it. Everybody makes that decision.''

Schwartz was visibly miffed at Mangini's remarks when he heard the accusation after Monday's practice.

"Yeah, he's way out of bounds on that. That couldn't be further from the truth,'' Schwartz said. "There was no need to do that to slow the pace down because the officials were doing a really good job of standing over the ball -- for us and for them.

"We used a lot of no-huddle also, and I thought the crew did a really good job of making sure that substitutes were allowed to come in on either side if the offense substituted. So that game was under control that way and there was no need to do any of that stuff. That couldn't be further from the truth.''

Lions veteran linebacker Larry Foote also weighed in on the Mangini's belief that the Lions faked injuries to slow the pace of the game.

"We've been getting banged up all year. I don't know what kind of water he's drinking. ... I don't know what's going on,'' Foote said. "I think coach Mangini should stop making comments on our team.''

Schwartz also wasn't happy about Mangini's contention that the officials shouldn't have flagged Poteat for being physical with Lions receiver Bryant Johnson because Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was scrambling outside of the pocket.

Mangini said: "The quarterback was running around all over the place and Hank matched (Johnson). Could he have pushed him less? Yeah, he probably could have. It's really not illegal contact when the guy's out of the pocket or scrambling. But they called it.''

Schwartz's response: "Yeah, well, they don't know what they're talking about, and you can quote me on that. When the quarterback's out of the pocket, there can still be pass interference. There can't be illegal contact, but there can be pass interference. And when the ball's in the air, you can't make contact with the receiver. That's clear. There were more flags thrown than there were officials. When you're making contact and you're not playing the ball and the ball's in the air, that's pass interference.

"That's as clear a case of pass interference. Not only did they interfere with Bryant, but they interfered with Calvin (Johnson) as he's trying to make the play. The one guy is intercepting the ball, but the other guy is undercutting Calvin's legs. Anytime you lose the game, you're going to be upset and you're going to look at different things. But I think the officials handled the game well and they made good calls right there.''

Mangini did have one beef that Schwartz agreed with. After Detroit scored the game-tying touchdown with no time left, players and coaches left Detroit's sideline in celebration and Mangini said the Lions should've been penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.

"They're probably right,'' Schwartz said. "But I've got pretty good confidence that Jason Hanson can still. ... Jason wasn't going to come up short on a 35-yard extra point. But he may have a point right there.''